Perceptions..Things are not always what they seem

Have you ever thought about the perception others have of you? I am one who is very much an individual, so I usually could care less. However, I have recently begun to ponder the thought.

I randomly picked up my high school year book one night and read through some of the messages left by my classmates and friends. More than half of them had written things such as "I wish I would've gotten to know you sooner, you are so much nicer than I thought you were" or "I always thought you were stuck up, but you're not, you are one of the sweetest people that I know". Obviously, their perception of me was far different than who I actually am.

Now, fast forward several years later. I am at an event sponsored by my Alma Mata, and I see the one high school classmate that attended the same college that I did. Being the only two from our high school, we became very good friends in college. Although for some reason, we never kept in contact after college. We kind of make eye contact, but as soon as I see her, I quickly move in the opposite direction. I manage to avoid her all night. I wonder what her perception of me that night was. It is highly unlikely that she concluded that I had just been diagnosed with Vitiligo, and was still very uncomfortable in my own skin. Did she know that in addition to the… "Where do you work?", "Are you married?", "Do you have any kids?" …line of questioning; I really wanted to avoid the… “What happened to your hands?” question. In my mind, she would have seen me and shared with the rest of my classmates what a mess I had become…and she probably did.

Nearly three years later. I am very comfortable in my own skin. I am well versed in Vitiligo and I love to enlighten others about my condition. I wish I could go back to that night and explain to her why avoided her. I wasn’t being "stuck-up" like I was perceived in high school. I was not yet comfortable with sharing with those I knew. I could barely deal with strangers back then.

Thank God for my growth as a person. This is my public apology to my high school class-mate. Maybe we will bump into each other again, and I can truly make amends. "Don't judge a book by its cover" is so applicable here. You just never know what someone is truly going through.